The Henderson family of Invercargill - Dougall, Lisa, Ben (8), Josh (4) and Gracie the dog - have been camping at Waitangi, on the shores of Lake Aviemore, since last Wednesday.
The weather had been miserable "but we're persisting", a pyjama-clad Mrs Henderson said yesterday morning.
It was the family's second year camping at Waitangi.
Last year was much warmer and they spent most of their days on the edge of the lake.
This year, they had managed about two hours on the beach one afternoon.
On Monday, they went shopping in Twizel and drove to Aoraki-Mt Cook but visibility was not good.
Mrs Henderson said the family was "reasonably" cosy and a hot shower, courtesy of a shower tent, had definitely been a bonus.
Another had been her sister-in-law's nearby campsite, complete with SkyTV, and they had been keeping up with Coronation Street, she said.
A present from Santa - a portable DVD player - had also proven very popular with their children and other children in the camping neighbourhood when the weather was inclement.
Camping seemed to agree with Gracie, who was a camping novice - "she's absolutely loving it" - and the dog even had her own tent.
The camp had emptied out, particularly on Sunday, when people headed back to work.
Waimate District Council parks and reserves manager Graeme Watts said the weather had "probably played a role" in camps emptying, and many were heading back to work.
A new wave of campers was expected as those who worked over the Christmas-New Year period began their holiday.
There had been some "pretty hard winds", especially around New Year's Day, and a few campers headed home early, Mr Watts said.
